2007

Companies that enroll in the 2007 CE Program receive the following courses.

Case Clinic on Laboratory Tests: This is our first-ever case clinic course, requested by many enrolled companies. It will have 20+ cases involving laboratory test results and other risk co-factors. Full case details will be provided with questions raised for each case. Our best answers to these questions will then be provided as a surrogate for our usual self-examination.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): PTSD is increasing in prevalence and needs to be covered in depth for mortality and morbidity risk issues. This course will have all of the latest information on epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis for full-blown PTSD as well as the now-recognized subthreshold form of the disorder.

Major 21st Century Markers for Atherosclerotic Disease Risk: There have been tremendous advances in the development of effective markers for atherosclerotic circulatory disease risk. Among the ones we will cover are BNP, NT-proBNP, hs-CRP, homocysteine,apolipoproteins A-1 and B-100, hemoglobin A1-c, the triglycerides-to-HDL-C ratio and what is called “non-HDL-C cholesterol.”

Celiac Disease: Perhaps no prevalent disease is less appreciated by underwriters than gluten-sensitive enteropathy, better known as celiac disease. We will cover all risk-relevant aspects of this disorder, including the latest on diagnostic testing, comorbidities and prognosis, and, of course, BEST CASE criteria.

Underwriting Assessment Of Syncope (Fainting): Syncope is one of the five most common symptoms for which patients seek medical care. There are many causes; some with little risk significance and others with profound implications for insurability. This course will cover all aspects of syncope with a special focus on identifying the WORST CASES based on typical medical histories where a definite clinical diagnosis is not established.

Sexually-Transmitted Diseases (Excluding HIV + HBV): The prevalence of STDs is increasing and there may been many advances in the diagnosis and treatment of some of these disorders. This course will review all of the prevalent STDs except for HIV and hepatitis B (we did a comprehensive HBV course in 2005). All that underwriters need to know to assess these conditions will be included.

Benign & Premalignant Breast Disease: This course will examine all of the major forms of benign and precancerous breast lesions, from cysts to atypical hyperplasias. These growths are more and more frequently being identified and diagnosed due to screening mammography. Some portend significant mortality and morbidity risks. The underwriter will come away with a strong understanding of these pathologies and their relationship to insurability.

Coronary Artery Calcium Scores and the Risk of Circulatory Events: The use of helical CT-scanning to compute calcium scores has expanded greatly in recent years. Many persons now pay for their own scanning (which is quite affordable) when it is not covered by their health insurers. This course will review all that underwriters MUST know about this test, including what may...and may not...be inferred from the results.

Major Eye Disorders: Eye disease is another subject that all-too-often falls under the radar of underwriters. These four conditions all have implications that transcend their direct impact on vision. All four will be covered in depth, with the latest on diagnosis, work-up, comorbidities, prognosis and therapies.

Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer: Basal and squamous cell skin carcinomas are among the most commonly-diagnosed malignancies. Many confer little risk; in others, that risk is anything but modest. We will cover every salient aspects so underwriters can easily distinguish more-common BEST CASES from their sinister WORST RISK counterparts. We will also address comorbidities and other risks that have come to be associated with skin cancer.

Anemia II: This course will complete our coverage of anemia. The focus will be on thalassemia (one of the most prevalent disorders in the world), the various hemolytic diseases and in-depth focus on two issues: the implications of anemia in older-age applicants (which are all-but-unrecognized in most manuals) and the links now appreciated between low-grade anemia and enhanced CV risk.

Stress: Issues in Risk & Insurability: We all know intuitively that stress and disease are profoundly linked. For the first time in underwriting education, these links will be explored in depth for both morbidity and mortality. The world literature will be sifted and the most relevant aspects reviewed in depth. This course may well have implications for readers that transcend matters of underwriting!

Colon Polyps and Carcinoma In-situ: With the advent of screening colonoscopy, the incidence of colorectal polyp discovery and excision has grown steeply. This course will provide a broad-based understanding of the various types of polyps, based on morphology, pathology and association with cancer risk, as well as the polyp-forming syndromes and practices related to lower GI screening.

Smokeless Tobacco and Betel Nut: The proper insurability status for smokeless tobacco continues to be debated. Betel nut use is highly prevalent in persons from Pakistan to the end of the Indonesia archipelago, as well as in immigrants from those countries. This course will give the student a comprehensive understanding of all insurability-salient aspects of both topics.

Hepatitis C 2007: (Brand new course, updated for developments from 2003 to 2007)There are thought to be well over four million chronic HCV-infected Americans and millions more worldwide. HCV is now the #1 cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer in most parts of the Western world and second only to hepatitis B in Asia. There have been so many advances in knowledge about aspects of HCV related to insurability that we MUST now update and expand our 2003 course for matters bearing on how we identify high risk individuals and assess diagnosed cases of this serious disorder. BEST and WORST CASE criteria will, of course, be discussed in depth.

Hemochromatosis: Hereditary and non-inherited forms of hemochromatosis have significant implications for insurability, as stand-alone disorders and comorbidities. This course will provide a strong understanding of everything from genetic tests for the hereditary form to key factors for identifying probable undiagnosed cases based on blood profile test results and medical and family histories.

Social Anxiety Disorder and Other Phobic States: Social anxiety disorder – once called social phobia – is a very prevalent anxiety disorder. It exists in two main forms, both of which have significant morbidity risk and one of which also has important mortality implications. We will examine in depth the comorbidities that so often influence the outcome of this condition. We will also look at the other phobic states that have insurability issues.

Ovarian Cysts & Tumors: Ovarian cancer is one of the leading causes of female cancer mortality. It is also a disease where great strides have been made in diagnosis and treatment. There are several borderline tumors that are being diagnosed more often now, as well as various cysts and benign tumors that need to be understood in a risk context. This course will cover all of this and provide BEST CASE criteria for ovarian cancer.